A Resource for Texas Employers

Tag Archives: Leave of Absence

By Russell Cawyer on February 28, 2018 Posted in Leave of Absence,News & CommentaryThis month the City of Austin passed the State’s first municipal paid sick leave ordinance requiring private employers to provide earned sick time to employees. Beginning on October 1, 2018 (and October 1, 2020 for employers with five or fewer employees), employers with employees working in the City of Austin must provide employees with earned… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on May 10, 2016 Posted in Disability,Leave of Absence,News & CommentaryThis week the EEOC published a resource document intended to provide guidance on providing disabled employees with leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation. According to the Commission, [It] continues to receive charges indicating that some employers may be unaware of Commission positions about leave and the ADA. For example, some employers may not know… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on August 14, 2014 Posted in Case Summaries,Leave of AbsenceThe DOL regulations require FMLA-covered employers to provide various notices to employees. The regulations do not dictate how all of the notices must be delivered. Most employers utilize hand-delivery or regular U.S. mail for most pre-leave notices (eligibility and pre-leave designations) and use U.S. mail almost exclusively for post-leave notices (i.e., when the employee is already out on leave).… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on June 23, 2014 Posted in Leave of Absence,LegislationLast week the U.S. Department of Labor published a proposed rule to extend FMLA benefits to same-sex spouses on the same terms as spouses of other legally recognized marriages. This will confirm, if passed, that FMLA benefits must be provided to all eligible employees to: care for their legally married spouses who have a serious health… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on October 3, 2011 Posted in Human Resources,Leave of AbsenceWhile the FMLA normally requires an eligible employee be reinstated to an equivalent position at the end of his FMLA leave, the employee has no greater right to reinstatement than if the employee had been continually employed. Thus, there are several situations where an employee is not entitled to reinstatement. First, where an employer conducts a layoff or reduction… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on July 19, 2011 Posted in Leave of AbsenceThe U.S. Supreme Court will decide next term whether it is law enforcement’s warrantless placement of GPS devices on a suspect’s vehicle amounts to an unlawful search or seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Fifth Circuit has already authorized law enforcement’s use of this warrantless tactic. Similarly, a New Jersey court has blessed a spouse’s use of GPS tracking technology… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on June 10, 2011 Posted in Disability,Leave of Absence,Reasonable AccommodationThis week the EEOC held a hearing on whether new or updated regulations and enforcement guidance was needed with respect to providing leave of absence as a reasonable accommodation for disabled employees. The EEOC has recently been very aggressive in bringing suit against employers that use maximum leave policies or "inflexible" policies that provide no exception for reasonable accommodation. For… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on February 23, 2011 Posted in Human Resources,Leave of AbsenceIf I had a dollar for every time I reminded a client that "no good deed goes unpunished," my childrens’ college funds would be flush and I’d be planning to retire early. The recent case of Terwilliger v. Howard Mem. Hosp. (W.D. Ark. 1/27/2011) reminds us that employees will often attempt to ensure that "no good… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on August 5, 2010 Posted in Case Summaries,Leave of AbsenceThe exercise of sound judgment and the uniform, mechanical application of employment policies are not always synonymous. Every FMLA-covered employer in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana should be interested in the Fifth Circuit’s most recent FMLA case resulting from an employer’s uniform application of its internal FMLA reporting policy. In Saenz v. Harlington Medical Center, the Court decided,… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on July 3, 2010 Posted in Case Summaries,Discrimination,Leave of AbsenceIn its first FMLA opinion, the Texas Supreme Court held that agencies of the State of Texas cannot be sued for FMLA violations arising out of an employee’s FMLA leave taken for his own serious health condition. In University of Texas at El Paso v. Herrera, the Supreme Court of Texas held that, unlike the family care provisions of the… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on June 22, 2010 Posted in Leave of Absence,Wage & HourThe U.S. Department of Labor has "clarified" the reach of the FMLA by offering an interpretation of the meaning of "son or daughter" under the FMLA. Under the FMLA regulations, a "son or daughter" is defined as: a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stephchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on October 31, 2009 Posted in Leave of AbsencePresident Obama signed the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act setting the budget for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2010. The NDAA amends the Family & Medical Leave Act and is effective immediately. In relevant part, the NDAA amends the FMLA to extend its military leave entitlements. The FMLA is amended, in relevant part, as follows: Expands the exigency… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on April 16, 2009 Posted in Leave of AbsenceI recently wrote about several leave of absence bills pending in the Texas Legislature. On March 25, Congressional Democrats introduced a bill to provide twelve weeks of paid federal family & medical leave –the Family Leave Insurance Act of 2009 (HR 1723). Unlike the FMLA which only applies to employers with 50 or more employees… Continue Reading

By Russell Cawyer on March 20, 2009 Posted in Leave of Absence,LegislationThere are several pending bills in the Texas legislature that could effect the leaves of absence private employers must make available to their employees. Some of these types of leaves have already been passed in more liberal states such as California and Massachusetts. Pending leave of absence bills in the Texas legislature include: HB 615 Permitting employees with a child enrolled… Continue Reading

About the author

Russell Cawyer is a partner representing Texas employers in Kelly Hart & Hallman’s labor and employment practice group practicing out of the firm’s Fort Worth, Texas office. He has been board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for nearly 20 years.

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